Le château Saint-Jean

Nogent-le-Rotrou is dominated by an impressive rectangular medieval keep, 30m in height. Ramparts with seven towers add to the defences.

Built from 11th to 15th centuries, the Château Saint-Jean rises high above the Huisne Valley. Curiously, its security-conscious medieval designers didn't provide any obvious access to the castle from the adjoining town. The situation was rectified at the Renaissance, when a stairway was built, with 155 steps joining the castle to the Le Paty quarter of town.